1989 Italian Grand Prix
10 September |number = 480 |officialname = 60° Coca-Cola Gran Premio d'Italia |circuit = Autodromo Nazionale Monza |location = Monza, Italy |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 5.800 |laps = 53 |distance = 307.400 |pole = Ayrton Senna |polenation = BRA-1968 |poleteam = |poletime = 1:23.720 |fastestlap = 1:28.107 |fastestlapdriver = Alain Prost |fastestlapnation = FRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 43 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Gerhard Berger |secondnation = AUT |secondteam = |third = Thierry Boutsen |thirdnation = BEL |thirdteam = }} The 60° Coca-Cola Gran Premio d'Italia, otherwise known as the 1989 Italian Grand Prix, was the twelfth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Italy on the 10 September 1989.'Italian GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr480.html, (Accessed 21/04/2019) The race would see Alain Prost sweep to victory for , a win which ensured that they won the Constructors' Championship with four races to spare. The build-up to the race would be dominated by confirmations for the campaign, with Prost and Gerhard Berger set to swap seats, with the Frenchman joining as the Austrian joined McLaren. Elsewhere, Nelson Piquet was to abandon to join , while Martin Donnelly would take his Ethel based seat. Qualifying would see Ayrton Senna secure yet another pole position for himself and McLaren, while Berger and Nigel Mansell secured second and third for Ferrari. Championship leader Prost could only managed fourth ahead of the two s, while Philippe Alliot came through pre-qualifying to grab seventh for . Unfortunately for the tifosi there would be no beating Senna at the start of the race, with the Brazilian sprinting clear of Berger and Mansell off the line. Indeed, the start of the race proved incredibly tame, with the field effectively running in grid order through to the Curva Grande. Indeed, the order was incredibly static during the early stages of the race, with Senna easing clear of Berger, while Mansell battled a mis-revving engine. Prost, meanwhile, was unable to go on the offensive due to his use of harder tyres, and was instead being harassed by Thierry Boutsen. It was only when the two Italian cars his tyre trouble that Prost made progress, with the Frenchman able to ease past both without issue before half-distance. He was, however, powerless to catch Senna out front, with the Brazilian cruising to an almost guaranteed victory. That was, until a huge cheer echoed around the stands, signalling the smokey demise of Senna's engine through the Parabolica. That handed the lead to Prost, who duly nursed his McLaren home to claim a fairly popular win in-front of the Ferrari fans, given his future with the Scuderia. Behind the Frenchman came Berger and Boutsen, while Riccardo Patrese, Jean Alesi and Martin Brundle claimed the remaining points. That result meant that McLaren-Honda won the Constructors' Championship with four races to go, while Prost established a 20 point lead in the Drivers' Championship. Background Alain Prost had retained his lead in the Championship hunt after the Belgian Grand Prix, although his advantage had been reduced to eleven points with five races to go. Indeed, Ayrton Senna had continued to inch his way back towards his teammate in their duel for the title, and had moved thirteen points clear of Nigel Mansell in third in Spa. Elsewhere, Riccardo Patrese and Thierry Boutsen completed the top five arriving in Monza, while Alessandro Nannini moved clear of Nelson Piquet in sixth. had smashed through the 100 point barrier in Belgium, and had left Spa with 113 points to their name. That also ensured that they were some 68 points clear of at the end of the weekend, and could therefore win the Constructors Championship in Italy if they outscored their Anglo-French rivals. Elsewhere, had closed to within seven points of Williams in third, while had inched away from in fourth. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full pre-qualifying results for the are outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Modena was excluded from the results of qualifying for missing a weight check. Grid ** Palmer would start from the back of the grid after stalling on the formation lap. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Nakajima and Caffi were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * declared as the FIA Formula One World Championship for Constructors' Champions. ** This was McLaren's fifth Constructors' crown as a constructor. ** Honda claimed their fourth title as an engine supplier. * entered their 100th Grand Prix.'12. Italy 1989', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1989/italie.aspx, (Accessed 21/04/2019) * 39th victory for Alain Prost. * McLaren earned their 79th win as a constructor. ** Honda claimed their 51st triumph as an engine supplier. * Tenth career podium for Thierry Boutsen. * and set a new record for most failures to pre-qualify - 23.'1989 Italian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1989&gp=Italian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 21/04/2019) Standings Alain Prost moved twenty points clear at the head of the Championship as a result of the Italian Grand Prix, and could potentially win the title in Portugal. Indeed, if Ayrton Senna, his closest challenger, failed to score with Prost winning the race the battle would be over, before either driver had to take a dropped score. Elsewhere, Nigel Mansell had lost ground in third, although he was still ten points clear of Riccardo Patrese in fourth. The Constructors' Championship, in contrast, was all over, with declared as the Champions as they reached 122 points for the campaign. Indeed, their ninth win of the campaign had seen them move 70 points clear of , with just 60 points left to fight for across the final four races. The Anglo-French squad were hence looking to hold off for second, with those two leaving Italy some eight points apart. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1989 Grands Prix Category:Italian Grand Prix Category:Formula One races in Italy